Jensen La Vende
Senior Reporter
jensen.lavende@guardian.co.tt
At least one dismissed Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) contractor has threatened to sue the company for wrongful termination.
Stephen Samuel’s Contractors Ltd, represented by attorneys Larry Lalla, SC, St Clair O’Neil and Kareem Marcelle, addressed their pre-action protocol letter to CEPEP CEO Keith Eddy.
Attempts to contact Eddy for comment yesterday were unsuccessful.
The letter came a day after the Opposition People’s National Movement said it will take the Government to court over the dismissals of not just CEPEP contractors and their employees, but nearly 20,000 employees who were fired by the State.
In their letter, Lalla and the other attorneys claimed their client’s termination was in breach of an agreement. The letter explained that their client’s contractual arrangement was due to end in November 2029 and as per the contract, any termination demanded a 30-day notice or a payment in lieu of notice, which was not done as the termination was with immediate effect.
The letter added that the termination is in breach of the company’s ethos.
“The abrupt purported termination of the contract, along with others, will severely impact thousands of people, including vulnerable workers and their families, who have lost accrued benefits without notice. This breach directly contradicts your company’s stated goals of expanding employment and supporting small businesses, potentially undermining its mission to build communities. The claimant argued the defendant’s actions are unlawful and against public policy.”
On Wednesday, Opposition Chief Whip Marvin Gonzales and Opposition Senator Faris Al-Rawi, during a news conference at Balisier House in Port-of-Spain, promised legal support for the 19,810 people purportedly fired since the government changed. They added that the dismissal of CEPEP workers and from other State agencies was “vindictive and wicked.”
The pre-action letter added: “As a result of the actions of you and your company, our client and the affected workers have, and continue to suffer loss and damage. Moreso, as a direct and foreseeable consequence of your company’s breach, our client and, by extension, the affected workers have suffered and continue to suffer loss and damage, including but not limited to loss of income and profits from the purported terminated contract. Significant stress and anxiety stemming from the sudden inability to meet ongoing financial obligations, including those related to the care and well-being of their children and the irreparable loss of long-standing professional relationships and the disruption of a supportive working environment built over years with dedicated employees.”
The attorneys said if the termination letter was not rescinded by the end of the workday yesterday, they will immediately initiate a claim in the High Court for breach of contract and file for injunctive relief.
On Wednesday, hundreds of former CEPEP workers protested outside the company’s head office in Ste Madeleine, calling on Government to complete the audit into the company quickly and rehire them.
On Tuesday, Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath said the contractors would be paid “in lieu of notice” of the termination and it was expected that they would pay their workers a month’s salary to cover July.
On June 27, over 300 CEPEP contractors were given termination letters, which effectively left an estimated 10,500 workers on the breadline.